Posts in Popular
Tears of the Kingdom: Is Nintendo's Latest Legend of Zelda Game All It's Cracked Up to Be?

2023 has been an excellent year for video games. With many extremely popular and well-made releases such as Lethal Company by Zeekers, Spider Man 2 by Insomniac, or Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian, gamers have been spoiled by the wide variety of high-quality video games that have been coming out this year. However, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (or TOTK for short) has been hailed by some as the best game of the year. But what makes the game so good, and does it have any flaws? 

Read More
Diving Into the Navigator Classroom

While most people may see the Navigator as simply a school newspaper, it is also an official elective class at NorthStar Academy.  Inside the Navigator class, there are a variety of assignments and learning opportunities for students to learn about journalism and professional writing.  From learning core principles of journalism to the specific layout of a newspaper, students can learn a variety of helpful skills that can benefit them in their future careers inside the NAVI280e class.  Through completing the various activities in the Navigator class, students are able to learn a variety of valuable skills for their future endeavors.

Read More
Living Secure: How to Have Peace In Times of Chaos

Waves cascaded over the small cracked wooden boat, which keeled under the weight of the breakers. Salt water filled the men’s nostrils, and heavy rain splattered onto their already soaked tunics. “Turn the boat!” screamed a man with brown curly hair and flashing eyes. Although he had screamed with all his strength, his voice was picked up by the wind and carried far away, tossed on the waves and drowned in the sound of cracking thunder. A huge lightning bolt raced across the sky, followed by a split of thunder that seemed to come from the heavens themselves.

Read More
The Mind Games

Sports are often affiliated with the physical aspects of it. For example, the strength of football players, the agility of soccer players, and the precision of basketball players are commonly attributed aspects inside of the competitive world. With the rise of eSports however, many people feared this would take away from the definition of Sports. People might think that eliminating the physical aspects of sports would be like taking the pumpkin out of a Jack-o-lantern. It just would not work! But the one thing not often considered was the mental attributes of sports. 

Read More
Preparing for the SAT

The Scholastic Assessment Test, SAT for short, is one of the most important tests for college applicants to take.  However, some students have trouble on the SAT because they do not prepare for it.  This article will go over how a student would prepare for the online format of the SAT, which will be used from the spring of 2024 onward.  The SAT is split into four main sections with two going over reading and English concepts, while the other two handle math concepts.  This test can be extremely daunting to students since it lasts two hours and 15 minutes (College Board).  However, with the correct preparation a student can go into the SAT well-equipped.

Read More
Mercy Ships: Hope On the Horizon

This year, two Northstar students are living onboard one of the Mercy Ships. You might be asking, “What is a Mercy Ship?” Mercy Ships is a Christian charity that was established by Don and Deyon Stephens. Currently, there are two Mercy Ships known as the Global Mercy (GLM) and the Africa Mercy (AFM). Zara explains, “Mercy Ships provides free surgery to people in Africa. They do surgeries for people with tumors, bowlegs, cleft palates, and other diseases.” Zara also mentioned, “The organization aims to 'Follow the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor.’”

Read More
Christmas Around the World

Do you and your family have specific traditions you do every year around Christmas? For me, my family and I always go to the tree lighting on our square and go look at Christmas lights. Just like this tradition is unique to my family, so are other traditions to other countries. For example, France, Germany, and Australia all have different practices. Those countries will be our main focus. All of these countries have unique customs surrounding Christmas. Some of these practices are unique to one country or shared by many.

Read More
The Culture of Communication

In ancient Egypt, Egyptians used a form of writing known as hieroglyphics - carved pictures and images that represented things or ideas. In the Western world, we do not often think of pictures as a form of writing. While some Eastern languages use symbols to indicate words, Western languages use a series of letters to make words, each of which has a unique meaning. But, as technology has continued to develop, we can now communicate with people worldwide electronically. With the rise of texting, instant messaging, and social media, it seems that a new form of modern hieroglyphics has surfaced - emojis!

Read More
Star Life: How NorthStar's Minecraft Survival Multi Player Server Works

Have you ever been curious as to how you start a Minecraft server or ever wanted to know more about maintaining one? This article contains the answers to both questions. The owner and manager of NorthStar's very own Minecraft SMP (Survival Multi Player) Server, Alexander M., has advice and information regarding his server and the skills and resources needed to create and maintain it. 

Read More
The Story of Serving Selflessly

Have you ever dreamed of making a difference in the world? Well, that's what Cora and her family do. They live in Mexico and work with an organization that helps orphans and orphanages and have lived there since Cora was six years old. At the orphanages, her family sponsors children and works with the organization to better the environment for the children.

Read More
Rave Reviews Returns

Hello everyone! Right now you are witnessing history! This is the return of Rave Reviews! Last year two students, Rebecca C. and Janna P., started this series of articles, with the goal of recommending books and movies. I hope you all look forward to these articles as we continually bring you more. As always, talk with your parents before reading the material. Enjoy!

Read More
The Simple Beauty: What NorthStar Teachers Have to Say About Obedience

Picture this: you are sitting at church on a bright Sunday morning. The strong scent of the older woman’s perfume in front of you is tickling your nose. You are begging your stomach to stop gurgling so loudly that the people in front of you turn their heads. The pastor has reached the final five minutes of his sermon. He is giving the congregation final reminders for the week. Loving others, reading your Bible, and obeying God. Wait a second, obeying God? You question in your mind, How in the world am I supposed to obey a distant creator? What possible directions could he have for me? Why would he even need to concern himself with my obedience? Well, NorthStar Bible teachers and spiritual leaders answered this in the hopes of bringing students closer to God and giving younger generations a deeper understanding of God. 

Read More